Bach Prelude BWV 999 in KADOC chapel

J.S. Bach’s Prelude BWV 999 on baroque alto recorder (A=415). With the sun almost magically breaking through the clouds when the musical tension dissolves at the end. An excellent (and extremely challenging!) etude in using the recorder’s entire span of almost 3 octaves. Arranged and performed by Hein Zegers.

Originally an etude written for ‘Lautenwerck’, an enigmatic instrument that is often characterized by having 3 octaves and extra soft bass notes (gut strings).

Performed in KULeuven University’s KADOC Chapel (Documentation and Research Center on Religion Culture and Society). This venue has brilliant acoustics for pseudo-polyphonic pieces such as this one. Pseudo-polyphony is a techique in which the recorder excels thanks to its extremely transparent and direct articulation.